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Fiduciary Governance
ADP got something of a split decision in an excessive fee case—with a federal judge allowing claims regarding high record-keeping fees and expensive investments to proceed—but culling claims about the use of participant data.
The Suit
The suit was filed in mid-May 2020 in the U.S. District Court...
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Capozzi Adler PC has found another $1 billion 401(k) plan with “astronomical” fees in which “high recordkeeping fees” and underperforming target-date funds left participant accounts “languishing” in the plan.
The target this time is Marmon Holdings, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, which...
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The fiduciaries of yet another multi-billion dollar 401(k) has been sued for an alleged breach of its fiduciary duty—ostensibly for causing the plan to pay “unreasonable and excessive fees for recordkeeping and other administrative services”—including a new type of allegation.
This time it’s the...
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A qualified plan may invest in loans to third parties — loans other than those to a plan participant. There are compliance issues to consider, however, when a plan enters into such a transaction, or when a plan holds third-party loans as plan assets, and the IRS has updated the discussion on its...
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The flurry of lawsuits unleashed on holders of the BlackRock LifePath target-date funds is not without precedent — but it’s surely a head scratcher.
I’m referring, of course, to the recent swarm of lawsuits challenging nearly a dozen of the nation’s largest 401(k) plans and their decision(s) to...
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A federal judge has affirmed a $1.5 million judgment against Schlichter Bogard & Denton LLP and Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP for their role in bringing a “reckless” excessive fee suit.
Back in September 2020, determining that the decision to pursue litigation was “objectively...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has announced that it is seeking nominations for open positions on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans.
More commonly known as the ERISA Advisory Council, the Council’s duties are to advise...
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L Brands, parent company of Bath & Body Works has come to terms with the plaintiffs in a 401(k) excessive fee suit.
The suit—which had been filed in late 2020 by Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah LLP and Goldenberg Schneider LPA on behalf of participants in the $1.5 billion plan—had...
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Another large 401(k) plan has been sued for a breach of fiduciary duty involving excessive fees for recordkeeping—and managed account services it says were worth nothing.
This one has been filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by one Ryan K. Gosse, individually and...
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Claiming that the plan fiduciaries “…employed a fundamentally irrational decision?making process (i.e., inconsistent with their duty of prudence) contrary to basic economics and established investment theory”—a new suit involving the BlackRock LifePath target-date funds has been filed.
The suit—...
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In a case that has lumbered around since a 2017 embezzlement by Vantage Benefits Administrators, a custodian has finally been able to clear its name.
The action followed an Oct. 31, 2017 raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the offices of Vantage Benefits Administrators “amid concerns...
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Plan documents, and compliance with the rules and regulations governing them, can be complicated and are always important. An industry expert in a recent ASPPA webinar outlined what can be done if one has made an error with one.
John P. Griffin, JD, LLM Principal at the ASC Institute, reminds...
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Capozzi Adler and Miller Shah have wrested another settlement in an excessive fee suit—in record time.
This time it’s the $1.2 billion Rush University Medical Center 403(b) plan—sued by four former workers just a few months ago (Jan. 21, 2022) who has agreed to settle for $2.95 million—as well as...
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July can be depended upon to bring some heat to the United States, and 2022 did not disappoint—and that included private-sector pension plans, according to recently released figures.
Funded Status
July brought good news according to October Three, which tracks two hypothetical pension plans—one...
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Three Senate Democrats have written to Fidelity, raising concerns once again about the “dangers” associated with investing in bitcoin and digital assets, especially within retirement plans.
In their July 26 letter to Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate’s...
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A $5.1 million settlement of a suit involving excessive fee allegations regarding a $15 billion plan with a settlement structure has been approved by the court.
The History
Back in June 2020, the $15 billion Costco 401(k) plan was sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...
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Another excessive fee suit—heavy on definitions and allegations, including a couple of potshots at the providers involved—has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Minnesota hospital system North Memorial Health Care has been charged (Keller v. N. Mem’l Health Care,...
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As new rules about rollover disclosures kick in, a new report highlights an often unacknowledged risk of rollovers—high(er) fees.
That’s right—a new report from Pew Trusts seems to have stirred up a new awareness of that issue—all this attention just as PTE 2020-02 brings the written requirement...
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A recent appellate court decision warrants a rethink of an excessive fee suit decision—at least that’s the argument being made by the plan fiduciaries.
The suit in question was filed by a group of participant-plaintiffs in the $5.354 billion Humana Retirement Savings Plan (represented by the law...
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After nearly a year of negotiations (though that’s a pretty short turnaound by some measures), the parties in an excessive fee suit have asked for the court’s approval on a settlement agreement struck by the parties.
The plan in question—more specifically the plan fiduciaries—involved are those of...
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